Here in my country (Dominican Republic ) we have 2 aquatic parks . Manati Park at Bavaro on the east and Ocean World at Puerto Plata on the north coast , the most tourism intensive zones .

Manati Park is owned by an spaniard corporation and the condition of his dolphin shows are a real disaster . All the local enviromental organizations are putting a real fight against them and up to now we have a little success . First we stop them from capturing dolphins from our coasts ( they captured their first dolphins from a national park waters ) and recently the enviromental ministery cancelled a import permit that they intend to use with some dolphins from Cuba .

Ocean World is owned by a german family and although they have better and bigger instalations , they are trying to import 12 dolphins from Japan , directly from the institution behind the masssacre in the coastal town of Taiji, Japan.

The conservation groups in our country are starting to create a campaing against this action . Is not an easy task because both companies generate huge profits and have enough power and influences with corrupt politics to operate and the media to clean their images .

The boats going to Silver Banks are departuring from the Ocean World's dock , that unfortunately is the only one in decent conditions at Puerto Plata . If it happens that some of you are going to Silver Banks this season , please try to not spend your money at Ocean World

Please read the following article and more important see the linked video posted by Save Japan's Dolphins coalition .

What a shame !!!!!!!!!![/b]
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WASHINGTON - January 18 - Environmental organizations revealed today that
two American aquarium specialists are poised to transfer of twelve
bottlenose dolphins from Japanese slaughter pens to a Dominican Republic
aquarium, Ocean World Adventure Park.

The environmental groups of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition are attempting
to stop transfer both because it is grossly inhumane and because it violates
provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES). The twelve dolphins are being held in Taiji, Japan pending the
granting of import permits to the Dominican Republic. Stefan Meister, (a
German national and vice president of the Ocean World Adventure Park in the
Dominican Republic), Dr. Michael Briggs DVM, (an American citizen associated
with the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago), and Dr. Ted Hammond, (an American
dolphin dealer and marine mammal veterinarian) are brokering the sale and
transfer of the twelve dolphins.

The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition has obtained rare broadcast-quality video
footage of the cruel, bloody capture of these twelve dolphins in Japan's
waters in the port of Taiji.

"This was one of the most violent dolphin captures that I have ever
witnessed in my 45 years of working with dolphins," said Richard O'Barry, a
marine mammal specialist with the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition. "12
dolphins out of the pod were manhandled out of the water only to be isolated
from their pods mates as those pod mates were butchered. And I saw aquarium
representatives help with the killing as well as the captures."

Japan kills more than 20,000 dolphins annually, most of which are butchered
for sale in meat markets. Coalition representatives claim that the
international aquarium industry subsidizes the slaughter by paying $45,000
(US) or more for prime dolphin specimens for dolphin shows and
swim-with-dolphins programs.

Ric O'Barry continued: "If the international aquarium industry ceased buying
dolphins from the slaughter pens, the dolphin slaughter would be crippled,
as dolphins sold for meat on the market only bring the equivalent of a few
hundred dollars."

"We are calling on the Dominican Republic's President, Mr. Leonel Fernandez
Reyna, to immediately block import of the 12 Japanese dolphins into the
country," said David Phillips, Director of Earth Island Institute's
International Marine Mammal Project. "It would be unfortunate to have the
Dominican Republic's reputation as a environmentally friendly tourist
destination wrecked by subsidizing the Japanese dolphin slaughter."

The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition is a group of four environmental and
animal protection organizations – In Defense of Animals, Animal Welfare
Institute, Earth Island Institute, and Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan –
dedicated to ending the slaughter of dolphins authorized by Japan's
Fisheries Agency.

Everybody here are trying to put some pressure on authorities to stop this to happen .

Our local society against cruelty on animals ( SODOPRECA ) is collecting signatures in order to send a letter to the president of Dominican Republic and the enviromental minister , asking to ban the import of dolphins .

Jose,
This is a good thing you are trying to accomplish. The market for dolphins has lead to all kinds of abuse and wrongful captivity of dolphins around the world. Even more sad is the fishermen in Taiji are subsiding their annual slaughter with sales of a few live dolphins. Let's see what we can do to get some more support going here.
-shawn

The Caribbean is setting up the same attractions on every island .. such as dolphinariums .... because of the revenue

Why does Cayman a 160sq Mile island need 3 !!! because it's money !!

Now no offense to anyone here ... but there is a very bad traveler out there

the American Cruise Shipper.

These people are ignorant but most of all unconcerned with the effects of their choices. It is these people that want to see dolphins on every island ... it is these people doing it.
Yes this is a generalisation ... yes I make money from the cruise ship industry ... but I show people the natural underwater world from the confines of a semi submarine.
I believe attacking the cruise line companies such as Carnival (the largest), RCCL and Norwegian will help.
Get these companies to refuse to make contracts with the captive animal tours and the companies that set up dolphinariums won't be able to financially satisy the requirements for setting up petting zoo.

If this is the case for Dom Rep .. I would suggest this route.
I am not sure I should be publicly placing blame there, but they do have the power to stop it. If they didn't offer contracts of business for dolphinariums then I am sure they wouldn't get set up.

Due to the pressure created by the conservation and ecological groups, recently the owners of the dolphinarium behind the plan made a statement in the local press saying that they already bought a big land lot at Bavaro (big tourism zone at east coast of the island ) to build a new delphinarium, (will be the 3rd in our country) making emphasis on the matter that their US$55 million planned investment will not take place if they are not allow to import the dolphins.

As you can see is important to spread the word about this situation , only a big pressure from international comunities will avoid this to happens.

This is a good thing you are trying to accomplish.It really winds me up when i see pictures of captive dolphins jumping against the sunset in photographers galleries, yes its a nice photo, but at what cost?

As you may noticed the post is almost 3 years old. At the end our goverment don't gave the permit to import the dolphins from Japan , that was a good thing indeed .

Like you , i'm against dolphins in captivity but those "aquatic parks" are a big bussines and at the end they find their way to obtain the dolphins . Cuba is making big money exporting bottlenose dolphins , hope that change someday .

My way to boicot is not going to places that keeps dolphins in captivity and telling my friends to not take their childrens to such places.